Perhaps nothing exemplifies living in the modern, post-industrial age more than the dizzying arry of small kitchen appliances and specialized cookware that are found so often in every kitchen that we take them completely for granted. In no particular order or degree of preference pfaltzgraff naturewood can be used as a sampler. Our not so distant chef ancestors likely had their own version of a kitchenaid or cuisinart food preparation tool they used for a similar purpose but what took a family of sous chefs an entire day to prepare we can accomplish with a push of a button or the turn of a control knob.

We come closest to our ancestors with our use of cutting instruments. The oldest food preparation tool that has been used continuously since the dawn of history is the kitchen knife. The earliest versions of the chefs knife were chipped from flint, then fashioned from fire and sweat in bronze, iron and steel, and they did the job. Today’s most valued cook’s knives are still made from steel and wood and used much the same way by modern chefs. That 15 piece knife set is our connection to the past. Elaborate food preparation and meal sharing are something that makes us human.

Whatever the gadget, tool or appliance that’s being used it’s a real life person that is using it. Working in the kitchen almost always means standing up and moving around in a flurry of activity. We do not think of footwear as an essential chef’s tool, until, that is, that it is our feet that are screaming for relief, and still have hours to go before we are finished. Asics and New Balance don’t make appliances but something as important – shoes. Look at the styles and features of shoes for wide feet and select something that makes your feet happy.